


Broken Pieces

by belizafryler



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Pepper uses a calming technique, Secretary/Boss, Stark Industries AU, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, anxiety attack, barista/customer - Freeform, coffee shop AU, first fanfic in Pepperony fandom, surprise! it's not as fluffy as you thought now is it, the five senses, trying not to scream in fear
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-20
Updated: 2019-01-20
Packaged: 2019-10-13 14:36:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,569
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17489837
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/belizafryler/pseuds/belizafryler
Summary: Tony Stark has received a job offer.He also drinks lots of coffee.





	Broken Pieces

In the beginning, Tony Stark had many materialistic things, and no one to share them with. He had all that man could ask for, girls at every corner, stacks of cash, a nice house, even better cards. But there was one thing that Tony Stark lacked, and it was the one thing he truly wanted: Tony didn’t have love in his life.

His parents were dead. Lord knew they hadn’t been the most supportive parents, but he’d loved them, and they were dead now. There was nothing he could do, no peace he could come to for them, except from within. That would take time though, and Tony felt like he was running out of it rapidly.

Even though there was no time stamp that told Tony when he would die, the man felt like he was running out of time. He did nothing productive most days, instead lazing around the house. Sometimes he’d let his one night stands stay the day, just so he wouldn’t be so damn lonely that day. But nothing would ease this pain he felt inside, and he couldn’t pinpoint why.

Tony had been given the opportunity to join Stark Industries, his father’s one and only child. But there was something keeping him from saying yes, he wasn’t entirely sure that he knew what it was. Surely it couldn’t be because he hated that building. It was just a building. It didn’t signify anything special…. Just the lack of attention his father had given him, all his childhood.

But his bank account was rapidly decreasing as well, and so he knew he needed a career and soon. Either that, or he’d have to seriously reconsider his lifestyle. A choice like this was a no brainer. He’d take the job, and pawn most of the work on a secretary. Or maybe he’d need several secretaries. It didn’t matter. He wasn’t prepared to do the heavy lifting yet.

These were the thoughts inside his head as he paced around in the living room of his spacious house. It was too damn early to have such things lurking inside his head, he groaned as he glared at the digital clock blinking 9:07 AM at him. Stretching out his arms and legs were doing nothing for his mindset.

Coffee…. He needed some coffee. That was a thought warm enough to convince him to shrug on his coat, despite the cold weather outside. He rubbed his hands together, trying to warm himself up as he waited for the car’s heat to start up. He drove in silence to the nearest coffee shop. It was a local business, one you wouldn’t find any other city. Tony craved their coffee at any and all hours of the day.

This was why he was alarmed to see the giant sign on the front door, one that warned it was closing down in two weeks. He stood there in the cold, frozen to the spot for a moment, before he swept the door open and walked into the shop.

There were only two baristas today, it seemed. A redhead and a blonde. Tony resigned himself to having to wait in a long line, but was surprised to see how quickly the redhead was going about her job. She also seemed to be encouraging the blonde constantly. It kept the line going quite fast, and for that Tony was grateful.

“Good morning sir,” The redhead chirped when he arrived at the front of the line. “What can I get started for you today?” she asked, a dainty hand hovering over the screen that would write out his order. Tony peered down at the display case for their baked goods, checking to make sure the almond croissants he favored were still in stock. They were.

“Two almond croissants, warmed, and one venti black coffee, two creams, no sugar.” Tony listed off his regular, sparing her a flash of the famous Stark smile before he looked down, focusing on the card machine, pausing only for the redhead to type in his order, and then swiping down with his card to pay for his meal.

“Can I have a name for your meal, sir?” The redhead asked, looking up from the display screen, and for a second Tony would swear, hand on his heart, that he’d seen her before in another life, one where that red hair of hers positively glowed like she was some sort of ethereal being.

“Stark. Thanks.” Tony answered after a brief pause, feeling unnerved by the feeling that he’d known her somewhere. Shaking it off, Tony shuffled over to the counter to wait for his order. It was not even thirty seconds later when he heard the blonde barista calling out another order was ready.

Tony had to admit he was impressed with the tight ship that the redhead seemed to be running. He was just thinking about telling Rhodey, the shop’s owner, to give her a raise when he remembered that the shop was closing in two weeks. He’d forgotten to ask about it, when he was up at the counter, and internally cursed because of it.

He tapped his foot against the bar holding the table up where he sat. He looked out the window, noticing how many people did not stop in to see the coffee’s extravagant offerings. He wished they would stop and take a look at what was around them. Though, truth be told, the same could be said about Tony. He’d been neglecting coming to the shop as often as he used to. 

Ever since his mum had passed, Tony had been something of a recluse. It had been a long three months, and everything seemed to have changed during that time. Including Rhodey’s coffee shop, he realised regretfully. He wondered if he’d be able to salvage any of the coffee before it was thrown out, or if Rhodey would part with recipes.

He was so lost in his thoughts about future coffee, he hadn’t heard anyone calling his name for his present coffee. Luckily, the crowd that had come in with him was dwindling, which meant the redhead was free to come around the corner, tap him on the shoulder, and gently speak. “Stark? Your coffee’s ready, sir. So are your croissants.”

“Oh,” Tony snapped back to reality so quickly he was sure he’d have a crick in the time space continuum. “Thank you, errr…..” He glanced down at her, wondering where her name was placed on her uniform. He didn’t see it anywhere.

“I’m new. Virginia Potts, nice to meet you.” She explained, first placing his meal and coffee on his table, and then offering him her hand to shake. He took it carefully, but firmly shaking her hand as he had been taught. _A firm handshake meant you were proud of who you are, Tony. Always shake their hand firmly._

“Tony Stark. It’s great to meet you, too.” He said softly, meaning that nicety for the first time in perhaps three months. “Do you have time to sit, Mrs. Potts?” he offered, gesturing to the empty chair across from him. “I wouldn’t want to keep you from your job, but….. It might be nice to have some company for a change.” He explained awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck nervously.

“Sure,” Virginia replied. “But it’s just miss. I’m not married,” she added with a laugh as she hopped up onto the chair he’d indicated. Then she hopped back down, and rushed behind the counter, calling backwards, “Hold on! I’m getting my snack.”

Charmed, Tony waited until she was back across from him to take a bite of his first almond croissant, savoring the taste with a slight moan. “Sorry,” he mumbled, wiping his mouth with a sheepish smile. “It’s been a while since I last had my fix.” he found himself actually chuckling at himself. It was amazing what companionship could do, he marveled.

“No problem.” Virginia hid a smile behind her muffin, but he could just see the corners of her mouth twitching upwards. He found he didn’t even mind that, the way she laughed at him. It was strange, but in a good way, he decided.

“So I saw the sign on the door. How long has that been there?” Tony brought himself to ask finally, glancing down at his coffee sullenly.

“A week.” Virginia answered sadly, her glowing smile dimming as she told him, “Ever since Mr. Rhodes died, it’s been hard to keep up with everything. Bad enough he’s gone, but the fact that he was using the last of his money to pay for our wages….” She trailed off, shaking her head with a wistful sigh, looking over at the blonde barista. “Well, we hate that it’s gonna be for nothing, you know?”

“Rhodey…. What? He’s dead?” James Rhodes was a virtual saint. He’d always had a kind word for anyone in need of one; Tony had been on the receiving end of Rhodey’s comforts many times. He couldn’t be dead. That was impossible. It hadn’t been _that_ long since Tony had last seen him, could it?

“I’m afraid so. Heart attack almost a month ago.” Now that Virginia seemed to realise that he hadn’t known yet, her cheeks flushed a pretty pink. “I’m so sorry, Stark. I didn’t mean to just spring that on you.” She apologised, her eyes wide and sad.

Tony felt like his world was collapsing in on him. A sound like a whimper came out of him, but he’d swear denial if anyone asked. His hands shook as he placed his coffee cup back down, feeling like it would be too much to hold onto anything right about now.

“Hey, Stark.” Virginia was talking again. “Hold out your hand, okay? Look at it.” she instructed in a soothing tone. “Pretend that each of your five senses can be called upon, using each of your fingers. What’s your thumb?” she asked.

“Sense of sight.” he mumbled, staring at his thumb blankly.

“What’s your favourite thing to see? I love a good beach scene, personally. The way the waves crash together peacefully….” Virginia continued.

“I like the beach too.” he agreed. “Okay,” Virginia went on. “Picture your thumbnail as the beach, with sand and waves and sky.” she instructed.

Unbidden, Tony started to sway side to side as he pictured the ocean. If he’d been able to focus, he would have seen Virginia smiling softly at him.

“Pointer finger, what sense?” She asked him after letting his swaying come to a stop naturally.

“Touch.” Tony suggested, shifting his gaze to the correct finger.

“What do you feel, Tony? What’s your favourite thing to touch?” Virginia’s voice was his only sense of reality at that moment, an anchor in the ocean’s storm.

“My mother’s dress. It’s velvet, and it changes shades when I rub it between my fingers.” Tony confessed, rubbing his thumb and pointer finger together, closing his eyes as he imagined the velvet between his fingers.

“Good job.” Virginia praised. “What’s your middle finger’s sense?” she asked next.

“Sound,” Tony’s gaze shifted again, this time looking at his middle finger. “I can hear birds chirping outside my window. It’s so peaceful.” He stated.

“What kind of birds are your favourite?” Virginia asked, helping him stay in the moment.

“Mockingbirds. They’d listen for my Mum’s whistling, and echo her.” Tony remembered, a faint smile crossing his face as he thought about that memory. It felt like such a long time ago now, but at the same time, like it was yesterday.

“Next finger.” Virginia encouraged.

“My ring finger is the taste of coffee.” He said, and Virginia startled a laugh out of him as she offered him his own cup.

“Taste it. It will help. Slowly, it’s probably still hot.” She advised. Once he obeyed, she asked, “And what does your pinky finger smell like, Tony?” Virginia asked finally.

“An almond croissant.” Without even giving her time to encourage it, Tony lifted the croissant to his nose and inhaled deeply.

“Good job. Do you feel better now?” Virginia asked gently.

“I do, actually.” Tony admitted in surprise, taking a large bite of his croissant. “Thank you so much, Virginia. It…. I never knew I could do that sort of thing.” He admitted.

“Please, call me Pepper.” Virginia stated kindly. “I’m just glad you were able to calm down so easily, you know? It’s always a shock when you hear about someone passing.” She sympathized. “I remember when I found out about Mr. Rhodes. I cried for two days.” She offered.

“Do you have another job lined up after this officially ends?” Tony rubbed the back of his neck, an idea creeping into his brain as he watched Pepper take a (much smaller) bite of her muffin.

“I do not. I figured I’d start looking later tomorrow.” She admitted.

“Would you like one?” Tony blurted out. “I mean… as my secretary. I’m supposed to start working next week and I haven’t gotten a secretary yet but I’m afraid to do it by myself.” He made a face at his confession. “And I know we just met, but… you seem to help.” he told her honestly. “I am at least twelve percent more okay about Rhodey than I would have been without you.” he added.

“Twelve percent is a good number, considering.” Pepper agreed, after she finished chewing. “Where do you work? What kind of secretarial job would it be?” She asked cautiously.

“I’ll be the head CEO at Stark Industries.” Tony answered, glad she was at least hearing him out before denying him. “And I’d need help with inputting numbers, scheduling, and generally keeping me sane. I haven’t been in that office since…” he paused, then said, “for a long time.”

“Can we discuss pay later?” Pepper asked sheepishly, seeing a crowd entering the coffee shop. “I need to go help Emma out.” She apologised.

“Absolutely. Does this mean you’d take the job, if the price was right?” Tony asked hopefully, standing as she stood.

“Probably. You don’t seem like you’d be too much to handle at all.” Pepper told him playfully. She started to walk backwards, then turned back to him. “Do you have a card? I can call you later, after my shift?” she suggested.

“Whenever you like.” Tony wrote out his personal number on the back of his business card and handed it to her. “I hope to see you Monday,” He admitted, finishing the rest of his coffee in a single sip.

“I’m sure you will. In the meantime, don’t forget your other croissant, and answer when I call you tonight!” she instructed. Then she hesitated, and added kindly, “Maybe practice the senses on your hand some more too. It can really help if you keep trying.” She offered.

“I will.” Tony was prepared to agree to just about anything to help him. “I’ll talk to you tonight, Pepper.” He gave her a nod of his head, which she returned (smiling, at him, all the while) before he exited the coffee shop.

He went back to his car, warming his hands with the paper bag his croissant was in. He found himself turning on the radio as he started the drive back to his house.

For the first time in three months, the idea of being all alone in his house didn’t seem nearly as daunting as it had yesterday.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for giving this fic a chance. I'm excited and hopeful to write more for these two. Let me know what you think in the comments below, please?


End file.
